EarlierTechcrunch broke the newson the upcoming launch ofCity Of Eternals, the firstFlash MMOG from Ohai.I have the rough footage below of in game play, and will add a proper screencast shortly. This is a World of Warcraft style MMOG that’s free to play and Flash based. It’s also integrated with Facebook Connect to allow easy signup and, more importantly, you can play with your friends and see the real identity of other players. (Techcrunch11/10)

At the risk of repeating myself for the millionth time, in many peoples’ minds, the Achilles’ heel of the iPhone is the network it’s on in the US: AT&T. Since the day it was announced as being exclusive to that provider, people have been wondering one thing: How long until it’s on Verizon? Rumors have surfaced time and again about the possibility, but today brings perhaps the most concrete news yet that the two sides are talking. The two sides are discussing the possibility of getting Verizon version of the iPhone ready for 2010, sources tell USA Today. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/26/apple-may-hear-verizon-now 4/26)

Samsung is close to bringing its first Android-based smartphone to market, according to reports, which say the Samsung i7500 that O2 is expected to launch in Germany in June will be less than 12 millimeters thick, not include a hardware keypad and run on the Android 1.5 (Cupcake) operating system. Relatedly, Google will release its first Android-powered netbook in the next three months at a cost of $250, according to several reports. Softpedia (Romania) (4/27) , CNET (4/26) , Computerworld (4/25)

Activision Blizzardsold a record 2.8 million copies of the latest World of Warcraft expansion: Wrath of the Lich King within the first 24 hours of its release. The Massively Multiplayer Online Game has about 11 million online subscribers. (Cynopsis 11/20)

In its battle for the hearts and minds of gamers, Sony is developing a robust social-networking component to its PlayStation 3 console. The new element, to be called Home, has been in beta testing for weeks and allows users to explore an online world with avatars that can travel from one virtual place to another. The New York Times/VentureBeat (11/19)

National Geographic Ventures is working with video game makers on branded games for PCs, consoles and handhelds, according to this article. “National Geographic: Panda” will be available this month for handheld Nintendo DS, and next month Sony will have “National Geographic: Africa.” The Washington Post/The Associated Press (11/18)

On November 19th, Xbox will debut a new user interface which simplifies the experience from a never-ending maze to one that seems more lifestyle-related and specifically bringing video-based applications more front and center. In addition, the availability to play movies from your Watch Instant Netflix queue and new gaming features have been added as well. Check out the video below for a walk-through from Crunchgear. (http://www.crunchgear.com/2008/10/29/review-the-new-xbox-experience-for-xbox-360 10/29)

Some will say this is just a simple UI upgrade. To those, I’d like to remind that the iTunes store could have been described as a simple mp3 store upgrade but that description would in itself. . .be too simple.

Shareholders will vote today on whether to move forward with the Activision-Vivendi arrangement worth $18.9 billion. The merger will create the world’s largest video game company with a foothold in all major world markets. (The Hollywood Reporter 7/7)